Cedartown Middle School : 2014-2015
Cedartown Middle School: 2014-2015

Scheduled weekly writing in all classes.

Attention to building fluency and set skills according
to grade and department specifications.

Quarterly writing prompts to assess students’
growing fluency and understanding; using this to
raise expectation and increase complexity

Ultimate focus and goal of text-based evidence,
synthesis of information, and complex analysis.

Based on weekly routine writing coupled with
other written assessments, students will respond
to quarterly grade-level prompts.

Grade levels will create grade-appropriate
extended response prompts to distribute on
selected writing dates.

Teachers will complete a rubric and will provide
feedback/evaluation for each response.
These writing assessments will…
 require students to support with recently-learned
content material
 be open enough to allow students to use a variety
of possible content as appropriate evidence
 provide students choice between approved prompts
 be rigorous and require depth from students
 align with the upcoming Georgia Milestones
These writing assessments will not…
 be easy, brief, or closed response
SAMPLE PROTOCOL:
 MJ emails department chairs to have them reach out
to department members regarding prompts
 Department members discuss amongst selves and
team to create prompt ideas based off recentlycovered standards, skills, and topics
 Ideas are sent to department chairs by an assigned
date and time
 Department chairs forward ideas to MJ
 MJ selects prompts to distribute to each grade level
 Students respond to prompts on assigned dates
Test
Q1 Writing Prompt
Important Dates
Thursday, August 28 (prompts due to MJ)
*Wednesday, September 3 – writing in HR
(this prompt will be used in PD 9/9 & 9/10)
Q2 Writing Prompt
Wednesday, November 5 (prompts due to MJ)
Wednesday, November 12 – writing in HR
Q3 Writing Prompt
Thursday, February 5 (prompts due to MJ)
Wednesday, February 11 – writing in HR
Q4Writing Prompt
Wednesday, May 6 (prompts due to MJ)
Wednesday, May 13 – writing in HR
Date
Event
August & September
Begin Phase 1 of initiative
Early September
Meet to go over Phase 1
Conduct training to integrate rubrics/Phase 2
First school-wide writing prompt during HR
September & October
MJ monitors prompts, feedback, student
work during Phase 2
November
First Milestones-like prompt whole-school for
second quarterly prompt
Late November &
December
Phase 3 – increase rigor and expectations in
all classes; training and resources distributed
Date
Event
January
Continue Phase 3; MJ monitors
February
Third quarterly writing prompt that is a
“mirror” of Milestones
*Milestones target month
February & March
Increase rigor, expectation, and
accountability; training and monitoring – MJ
April
MILESTONES MONTH
May
Final quarterly prompt
Evidence analysis and initiative assessment

REMINDERS:
 These should be standards-driven and should require
students to incorporate content understanding in their
responses.
 You need a prompt with student responses along with
teacher feedback and grading on our meeting either 9/9
or 9/10.
 As a team, set specific expectations for writing to
communicate to students prior to writing.
 Consult DOK examples and other Intranet resources.

Finalize prompt ideas to begin implementation next week.
Have prompts available for admin viewing.

Grade one prompt per month for a daily grade to enter into
PowerSchool. Quarterly writing will count as test grades.

Choose one prompt per month to provide feedback to
students for improved written responses in your subject
area.

We will meet Sept. 9 and Sept. 10 as departments/grade
levels to go over prompts, student samples, and your
feedback.

In tomorrow’s department meeting, continue
discussions about writing prompts that are
appropriate to your subject area.

Determine as a department your expectations for
student writing – mechanics, response length,
organization, etc.
 Minimum: complete sentences, attention to spelling,
appropriate punctuation, a specific # of sentences.
 Set this and distribute to all department members and
email to me.
Cedartown Middle School: 2014-2015
• Feedback on Writing Initiative
• “Best Practices” from Weeks 1 and 2
• Alternative ideas for writing prompts
• Tomorrow’s Q1 whole-school writing prompt

To have students use evidence to support a
writing prompt aligned with your curriculum.

To assess students’ depth of understanding
by having them explain, support, prove,
synthesize, and apply content knowledge.

To integrate writing in all disciplines to
prepare for Georgia Milestones rigor.
Cedartown Middle School
DISCUSSION:
What was your approach during Weeks 1 and 2?
What worked and what didn’t work?
What can you share to help a colleague?

Tie all prompts to the subject matter.

Your prompts should be complex in design.

Post clear expectations for writing.

Modeling writing for students will help them
succeed.

You are not expected to grade every week,
however.... ASSESS! ASSESS! ASSESS!
Cedartown Middle School
BEST PRACTICES
and
EXAMPLES OF HOW TO
DIVERSIFY WRITING


Use a famous quotation to anchor the purpose
for writing and/or the context for writing.
EXAMPLE
Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “We are not
makers of history, we are made by history.”
Analyze the truth behind King’s quotation by
tying his belief to your recent studies. You need
at least five sentences of supporting detail.
Include a comparison/contrast of King’s ideas to
your example.

Is the required weekly writing taking up too
much of your class time? That’s fine – this is an
excellent way to divide your room into
groups/stations!
Station #1
Station #2
Station #3
WRITING
PROMPT
REVIEW
GRADECAM
QUIZ
(individual)
(partner/small
group)
(individual)

Weekly writing does not have to always take the
form of structured paragraphs. Get creative!
EXAMPLE
R: Role
A: Audience
F: Format
T: Topic
Explorer
Inventor
TV audience “Shark Tank”
Narrative Letter
African safariS.P.A.
encounters

Create your writing prompt to venture into DOK 3 and 4
territory by creating a scenario to evaluate in addition to
having students use evidence from their recent studies.
EXAMPLE
Sarah had the following problem on a test: -6 + 4 + 2(-10)
Her work is shown below. Write her a letter explaining where
she made a mistake, and explain the correct way to solve the
problem.
-6 + 4 + 2(-10)
-6 + 4 + (-20)
-2 + (-20)
-22

End your lesson with your writing prompt after
you have covered key content as a way of
formatively assessing your students as they exit.

Tie your writing prompt in as a deeper level
extension of the prior night’s homework.

Use your weekly writing as a higher-stakes
assessment from time to time.
Cedartown Middle School
Q1 Writing Prompt
and Rubric
**Tomorrow in Homeroom!**

Either project the prompt or make copies for students.

All students 6-8 will write on the same prompt for Q1 as a
baseline comparison across all grade levels.
 If students have trouble responding to the prompt, grade-specific
choices have been provided.

Use the accompanying rubric to grade and give back
during next week’s homeroom.
 Use this as a teachable moment of grade-level expectations for
writing and to discuss the expectations of Georgia Milestones.
 Exemplars will be provided for each grade levels for comparison.